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March 17, 1964 R. c. CLlNE 3,125,356

HEAVY BINDER EASEL CONSTRUCTION Filed April 25, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR. ROBERT C. CL INE BY m AT ORNEY March 17, 1964 R. c. CLINE3,125,356

' HEAVY BINDER EASEL CONSTRUCTION Filed April 23, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheef; 2T 1 48 37 4s 44 aa 2 f? a 12 55 30 36 20" 5 29 2! g (ix 49"" a5 5&- 25 w../26

Z1 2Q 50 =63 21 A j INVENTOR 59 POEERT C. CLl/VE BY l J H United StatesPatent 3,125,356 HEAVY BINDER EASEL CONSTRUCTION Robert C. Cline,Saugerties, N.Y., assiguor to F. L.

Russell Corporation, Mount Marion, N.Y., a corporation of New York FiledApr. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 189,343 2 Claims. (Cl. 281-33) The inventionherein disclosed relates to binders having a built-in easel formationwhich can be raised to support the pages in an inclined positionconvenient for reading or display.

Objects of the invention are to provide a simple, practical form ofeasel structure, suitable for heavy binders.

Other special objects of the invention are to provide a heavy duty easelbinder made up of few, self-contained, durable parts, easily operable toshift from a closed binder to an open, page supporting inclined easelrelation.

Other desirable objects and the novel features through which thepurposes of the invention are attained are set forth and will appear inthe course of the following specification.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification,illustrate present practical embodiments of the invention. Structurehowever, may be modified and changed as regards the immediateillustration, all within the true intent and scope of the invention ashereinafter defined and claimed.

FIG. 1 is a front or face view of the binder, closed in book form.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are back and front views of the same respectively, lookingin the direction of arrows 2 and 3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan of the binder in fully opened relation.

FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic end views on line 5 of FIG. 4,illustrating successive positions in setting up the binder into easelformation.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the opened binder set up as an easel.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are front and back views respectively of the same.

FIG. 12 is a plan view, illustrating another form of the inventiondesigned as a screw post, nail, staple, prong or similar form ofbinding, and cover at one side being broken away for lack of space.

FIG. 13 is an end view of this binder set up in easel formation.

FIG. 14 is a front end view of this screw post form of binder, closed inbook formation.

The body of the binder is shown in the form of a folder, made up in eachinstance of front and back covers 20 and 21, hingedly connected onparallel lines 22, 23 to a back member 24, so as to close into compactbook formation, as in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, and to open out into flat form,as in FIG. 4.

The easel formation is shown as an easel board overlying the back andconnected covers and made up of side panels 25, 26 of approximately thesize of front and back covers 20, 21 and hingedly connected along theirlower edges at 27, 28 to the lower edges of said covers.

At the center there is provision for mounting of the binding.

The binding for the sheets, leaves or pages may vary to suit differentrequirements.

In the first example, FIGS. 1 to 9, the binding is shown in the form ofa mechanical ring binder 29 and the mounting provided for it is a backpanel 30 overlying and of approximately the size of the back member,hingedly connected along its side edges at 31, 32 with the side panels25, 26, in line with the cover-to-back hinges 22 and 23 so as not tointerfere with opening and closing movements of the binder.

At the lower edge this binding supporting back panel 30 is hingedlyconnected with the lower edge of the back 24 at 33 in line with the sidepanel hinges 27, 28 so that it will raise and lower with lifting andlowering movement of the side panels constituting the easel board.

The easel board, made up in the first instance of the three hingedlyconnected panels 25, 30 and 26, FIG. 4, may be raised and lowered as asingle unit by taking hold of it at the upper corner edges which may bemarked with suitable designations such as indicated at 34.

For supporting the board in lifted inclined relation there is provided asectional supporting panel made up of strips 35, 36 of stiff material,hingedly connected along their lower edges at 37, 38 with the upperedges of the side panels 25, 26 and hingedly connected along their upperedges at 3?, 40 with narrow strips 41, 42 which are hingedly connectedalong their lower edges at 43, 44 with the upper edges of the front andback covers 20, 21.

The strips 35, 36 are of a width to support the easel board at a desiredangle of inclination, such as shown in FIG. 8, and the narrower strips41, 42 are of a width to serve when turned in over the covers to locateand hold the supports 35, 36 in substantially upright position.

FIG. 5 shows diagrammatically the relation of the parts in the open flatcondition illustrated in FIG. 4, with the side panels 25, 26 of theeasel board and the support strips 35, 36 lying flat over the front andback covers 20, 21 and the support positioning strips 41, 42 lying flatunder the supports 35, 36 in line with the front and back covers 20, 21.

FIG. 6 shows how on lifting the easel board panels 25, 26 the supportingstrips or panels 35, 36 will hinge the positioning strips 41, 42upwardly and will, as the lifting progresses, carry the strips 41, 42upwardly and over a dead center position, such as in FIG. 7, where theywill drop down in back of the lower edges of the supports, resting onthe covers 20, 21, as in FIG. 8, and thus locking panels 25, 26 in thesupporting position.

To lower the easel it is only necessary to lift the easel panelssufilciently to reverse the action, that is to swing the hingedlyconnected supporting and positioning strips back through the FIG. 7 andFIG. 6 positions, whereupon the easel board with its supports willautomatically return to the flat folded state illustrated in FIG. 5.

FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 show the binder in the opened, easel formingcondition and also show how the inner ends of the spacing or positioningstrips 41, 42 may be connected by hinges 45, 46 with a short strip 47which is hinged to the back 24 along the line 48 in line with the hinges43, 44 connecting the positioning strips 41, 42 with the covers 20, 21so as to fold and unfold along with the other parts.

If desired the upper end of the back piece 30 may be supported in theinclined position by a small block or panel hingedly connected with theupper end of said back piece and hingedly connected with the small strip47 connecting the positioning strips 41, 42, though this extra supportis ordinarily not considered necessary.

The modification illustrated in FIGS. l2, l3 and 14 differs from theconstruction described in that it is made to take a binding on the orderof a screw post binder.

For that reason the center section of the easel board, over the back 24,is made up of upstanding flanges 49, 50 hingedly connected at 51, 52with the inner edges of the side panels 25, 26 of the board and providedwith holes 53 spaced to receive the screw posts, nails, staples or otherfastenings used for holding the sheets or pages in place.

The structure otherwise may be the same as first disclosed.

In practice this central binder or binding supporting section may beprovided by splitting the center section 30, FIG. 4, into separatedstrips to form the flanges 49, 50 hingedly connected with the sidepanels and provided with means for securing the bound sheets togetherand the side panels hingedly connected together in line with the coversof the binder.

The invention provides a strong, durable structure particularly suitedfor heavy binders. with no loose, sliding parts to get out of order andwhich may be made up at low cost because constructed mainly of flatpanels of cardboard or similar rigid, stiff, inexpensive material.

Even though the binder may be made up of relatively light stock, it iscapable of properly holding and supporting a heavy, thick bindingbecause of the manner in which the panels and strips are continuouslyconnected in edge to edge relation.

The easel supporting strips 35, 36 in the set up relation are firmlyheld at the top by the side panels 25,

26 and firmly held at the bottom by the positioning or spacing strips41, 42, which are secured to the front and back covers 20, 21, FIGS. 8and 13.

This arrangement also provides for the flat folding relation shown inFIG. 5. The slanted height of the easel board is determined by the widthof strips 35, 36 and the width of the positioning strips 41, 42 isdetermined by the extent the support strips 35, 36 extend beyond thecovers 20, 21.

This inclined height can be changed by varying Width of strips 35, 36and in doing so the width of the positioning strips 41, 42 will bechanged accordingly.

In reducing width of strips 35, 36, the width of the positioning stripswill be increased proportionately so as to preserve the relations shownin FIGS. 5 and 8 for maintaining the flat folding condition on the onehand and the upstanding relation of the supporting strips on the otherhand.

In the first form of the invention illustrated the in termediate panel30 may be considered as part of the binding means, hingedly connected asit is with the inner edges of the side panels and similar in thatrespect to the flanges 49, 50 carrying the binder posts and hingedlyconnected with the inner edges of the side panels in the second form ofthe invention shown.

What is claimed is:

1. A heavy binder and easel construction comprising the combination of aback and hingedly connected covers foldable into closed back formationand to unfold into open flat formation,

an easel board overlying said back and covers in the said open, fiatrelation,

said easel board consisting of fiat side panels overlying said covers atopposite sides of the back and hingedly connected along their loweredges with the lower edges of said covers enabling said panels to behinged upwardly at their upper edges into inclined position overstandingsaid covers,

sheet binding means between said side panels, overstanding said back andhingedly connected along opposite side edges with the inner edges ofsaid side panels in line with the hinging connections of the covers withthe back,

supporting strips for supporting the upper ends of said side panelscoextensive with said side panels and having their lower edges hingedlyconnected with the upper edges of said side panels, enabling saidsupporting strips to fold back and hinge downward- 1y into supportedengagement with the covers beneath the same,

positioning strips at the upper ends of and coextensive with said coversand hingedly connected at their lower edges with the upper edges of saidcovers enabling said positioning strips to fold upwardly and down overthe top of said covers, and

hinge connections between the upper edges of said supporting strips andthe upper edges of said positioning strips for causing said positioningstrips to follow and be located by said positioning strips when thelatter are hinged downward into the supporting position and whereby saidpositioning strips will then locate and hold the supporting strips insubstantially upright position supporting the easel board in inclinedeasel forming relation described.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said sheet binding meansincludes a back panel overlying and of approximately the size of thesaid back, hingedly connected along its side edges with the inner edgesof said side panels in line with the cover-to-back hinges and hingedlyconnected at the lower end with the lower end of the back, and

narrow supporting and positioning strips hingedly connected with saidback panel and said back and hingedly connected together and locatedbetween and hingedly connected with said first mentioned supporting andpositioning strips to operate in conjunction with said first mentionedsupporting and positioning strips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,595,064 Ericson Apr. 29, 1952 2,841,416 Barrett July 1, 1958 3,039,227Buchholtz June 19, 1962

1. A HEAVY BINDER AND EASEL CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF ABACK AND HINGEDLY CONNECTED COVERS FOLDABLE INTO CLOSED BACK FORMATIONAND TO UNFOLD INTO OPEN FLAT FORMATION, AN EASEL BOARD OVERLYING SAIDBACK AND COVERS IN THE SAID OPEN, FLAT RELATION, SAID EASEL BOARDCONSISTING OF FLAT SIDE PANELS OVERLYING SAID COVERS AT OPPOSITE SIDESOF THE BACK AND HINGEDLY CONNECTED ALONG THEIR LOWER EDGES WITH THELOWER EDGES OF SAID COVERS ENABLING SAID PANELS TO BE HINGED UPWARDLY ATTHEIR UPPER EDGES INTO INCLINED POSITION OVERSTANDING SAID COVERS, SHEETBINDING MEANS BETWEEN SAID SIDE PANELS, OVERSTANDING SAID BACK ANDHINGEDLY CONNECTED ALONG OPPOSITE SIDE EDGES WITH THE INNER EDGES OFSAID SIDE PANELS IN LINE WITH THE HINGING CONNECTIONS OF THE COVERS WITHTHE BACK, SUPPORTING STRIPS FOR SUPPORTING THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID SIDEPANELS COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID SIDE PANELS AND HAVING THEIR LOWER EDGESHINGEDLY CONNECTED WITH THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID SIDE PANELS, ENABLINGSAID SUPPORTING STRIPS TO FOLD BACK AND HINGE DOWNWARDLY INTO SUPPORTEDENGAGEMENT WITH THE COVERS BENEATH THE SAME, POSITIONING STRIPS AT THEUPPER ENDS OF AND COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID COVERS AND HINGEDLY CONNECTED ATTHEIR LOWER EDGES WITH THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID COVERS ENABLING SAIDPOSITIONING STRIPS TO FOLD UPWARDLY AND DOWN OVER THE TOP OF SAIDCOVERS, AND HINGE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID SUPPORTINGSTRIPS AND THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID POSITIONING STRIPS FOR CAUSING SAIDPOSITIONING STRIPS TO FOLLOW AND BE LOCATED BY SAID POSITIONING STRIPSWHEN THE LATTER ARE HINGED DOWNWARD INTO THE SUPPORTING POSITION ANDWHEREBY SAID POSITIONING STRIPS WILL THEN LOCATE AND HOLD THE SUPPORTINGSTRIPS IN SUBSTANTIALLY UPRIGHT POSITION SUPPORTING THE EASEL BOARD ININCLINED EASEL FORMING RELATION DESCRIBED.